Reuben Davis knows tires. He should — he’s been working in the tire business for 58 years.

A Lenoir County commissioner, he’s owned Davis Wholesale Tire on the U.S. 70 bypass for the past 40 years.

Today, Davis has a sundry of hi-tech equipment to service practically any type of tire, and he specializes in tires for farm equipment and tractor-trailers.

But it wasn’t always hi-tech.

In 1955, Davis partnered with Ralph Wooten, managing the full-service country store at Wootens Crossroads between Kinston and Snow Hill. The store carried groceries, hardware, clothing and general merchandise.

“That was a landmark store,” he said.

Within a few months, Davis had added a tire business.

“There was no other place that offered repair and sales for seven or eight miles,” he said. “So it was wide open.”

In 1964, he moved the tire business to Falling Creek and called it Davis Service Center. That worked for another nine years. But because he didn’t own the building, he couldn’t expand.

That’s when he moved to his present location, which has about 14,000 square feet.

“We do almost anything tire-wise,” Davis said.

In the early days, there was plenty of manpower to handle the heavy tires. Some of his employees went on to own their own businesses. Today, Davis has nine employees to carry on the work.

“We have a very good crew of workers,” he said. “They’re very coordinated and we get people in and out. … If you have good, trustworthy people, that’s what helps a business survive.”

LA GRANGE — For the 12th consecutive year, Wilbur “Billy” Spear Hemby Jr. — a certified financial planner based in La Grange — has received the Court of the Table award.

The Million Dollar Round Table — The Premier Association of Financial Professionals — honored Hemby with the award for outstanding client service, ethical conduct and professionalism.

Achieving Court of the Table status places him among the top professionals in the global life insurance and financial services industry.

“Attaining Court of the Table membership in MDRT,” MDRT President D. Scott Brennan said, “is a distinguishing career milestone reserved for a select few like Wilbur who have proven that they are among the best of the best.”

Hemby said he is “encouraged that we seem to have the right successful business model.”

“It would be due to a strategic partnership with a regional CPA firm,” he said was the reason he believes he has been awarded.

Hemby, a Kinston native and member of MDRT for 18 years, is the managing partner with the wealth management division of Pittard Perry & Crone.

“It’s an effective network of professionals,” he said, “working with over 10,000 individual clients and 4,000 business clients.”

He also has four Top of the Table qualifications — MDRT’s highest level of membership.

The award gives Hemby an opportunity to improve his skills through networking with other leading professionals.

Hemby, a graduate of Arendell Parrott Academy, has 25 years of financial experience. He started his career after graduating from UNC in 1984 and moving to Kinston in 1995. He works out of several offices in the region.

The La Grange office of Pittard Perry & Crone, 7868 Hwy. 70 W., is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday by appointment. For information, call 252-566-4890.

Margaret Fisher can be reached at 252-559-1082 or Margaret.Fisher@Kinston.com. Follow her on Twitter @MargaretFishr.

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Do you have a new retail business or one that’s undergone a significant change? The Free Press would like to hear about it. Contact Margaret Fisher at 252-559-1082 or Margaret.Fisher@Kinston.com.